Comments are what turn a blog into a conversation, and they need a little tending to stay that way. WordPress collects everything your visitors write on one screen, and keeping it tidy comes down to two buttons: **Approve** and **Unapprove**.

## Prerequisites

- An account that is allowed to edit comments — an Administrator or an Editor will do.
- A site with the comment queue turned on, so new comments wait for you instead of going live straight away.

## Steps

### Step 1: Open the Comments screen

Click **Comments** in the left sidebar. Every comment your site has received is listed here, newest first, and a red bar down the left edge of a row means that comment is still waiting for you. The links at the top narrow the list down: **Pending** shows only the comments waiting on you, **Approved** the ones already live on your site, and **Spam** and **Trash** everything you have set aside.

![Open the Comments screen](https://wordpress.supportpages.io/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6OTkxOCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--bcd73badcd17df39297eb39d1458ac2d15848358/block_open-comments.png)

### Step 2: Approve a comment

Hover over a comment in the **Comment** column and a row of action links appears underneath it. Click **Approve**. The comment goes live on your site right away, and the red bar beside it disappears.

![Approve a comment](https://wordpress.supportpages.io/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6OTkxNiwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--8e2d9e3bfa82ec4a6d0ef898c0dfde62139697cb/block_approve-a-comment.png)

### Step 3: Unapprove a comment

Changed your mind about something already showing on your site? Hover over it and click **Unapprove**. It comes down and goes back to the pending queue, where you can look at it again whenever you like.

![Unapprove a comment](https://wordpress.supportpages.io/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6OTkxOSwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--34e592dfd4b880ebbd6b07ec8e9a3e6cbf864da8/block_unapprove-a-comment.png)

### Step 4: Approve a batch at once

When the queue is long, tick the checkbox beside each comment you want to handle — or the checkbox in the header row to take the whole page. Then open the **Bulk actions** menu above the list, choose **Approve**, and click **Apply**. All of them go live together, and a short note at the top of the screen tells you how many you approved.

![Approve a batch at once](https://wordpress.supportpages.io/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6OTkxNywicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--0e5d32e549994467c3edc8c63b9d2a10a5d2416b/block_bulk-actions.png)

## Tips

- Start on the **Pending** link. Those are the only comments that genuinely need a decision from you.
- The same action links include **Reply** and **Quick Edit**, so you can answer someone or fix a typo without leaving the screen.
- The **Comments** bubble in the top toolbar shows how many comments are waiting, so you can check the queue from anywhere in the dashboard.
- Building up a queue of spam? Tick the boxes, choose **Mark as spam** from the **Bulk actions** menu, and clear the whole lot in one go.
- The **Help** tab at the top of the screen explains each column, and links to WordPress's guide to moderating with keyboard shortcuts when you want to move even faster.

## Summary

That is the whole job. Open **Comments**, click **Approve** on the ones you are happy to publish, click **Unapprove** on the ones you are not, and reach for the **Bulk actions** menu when the queue has piled up.